Overwhelmed by Government Paperwork, Special-Ed Teachers Flee

June 21, 2002

Congress has piled so many reporting requirements on special-education teachers that many are leaving the profession. In 1999-2000, more than 12,000 special-education positions were left vacant or filled by a substitute.

They say there is no excuse for all the paperwork they must fill out -- adding more frustrations to an already-frustrating profession. Principals who oversee the paperwork say they are overwhelmed too.

In some cases, teachers must document daily the progress each child is making.

Individual files on students can run to five inches thick.

It is not unusual for teachers to spend 50 minutes of their planning period on federal and state forms -- and at least an hour every day after school.

A survey of special-ed teachers in Washington state revealed that 40 percent planned to exit the profession within five years.